Captain Rebecca Astara and Ensign Haruka Goshin

In space... the bright light of a dying sun. An extinction event, which brought the end to an invasive species of sentient, mechanized beings. The correction of a sin of man, brought about by the sacrifices of men and women who left their families behind and traveled across the stars...

The light had all the energy and brilliance of a cosmic event, but it was, indeed, man-made. As the light faded, the scraps of mechanized warriors and their fleet of battle cruisers became evident, twisted shapes which no longer so much as twitched now that their core was destroyed. Finally, the light receded fully... an enormous, flickering purple orb was visible in space, the lone survivor of this blast.

The shield fell. The last hope of the Human Survival Mechanized Squadron, Figurehead V... The battleship, a sleek, silver beacon in the darkness of space, was revealed as the ball of light faded. The ship's long profile held its bridge at its aft, its fore dotted with eight rotating high power beam-launching turrets along the upper surface, along with a single larger turret on port and starboard and a hangar bay below. Most notably, a heavy-duty hangar door protected its main weapon at the tip of its bow, The Figurehead Flying V. That devastating energy launcher was brought about by the culmination of humanity's history of conflict and could only be resisted by the Ultimate Barrier, forged by the collected wisdom of the civilizations the Figurehead V had come across in its travels. With the combination of the abilities of living beings across the stars, a dark chapter was brought to an end.

Watching from the bridge of the Figurehead V was the youngest captain in the history of the Squadron... In fact, she was the last living crew member of the ship's maiden voyage, a **** expedition rushed by higher-ups sweating in their war rooms. Rebecca Astara, now twenty-six years of age, gazed out at the wreckage. Everything was still now, and peace waited for her at last. She said a prayer for the young men and women who were no longer with her and slumped into her chair, feeling ten years older.

Rebecca let out a sigh, taking off the helmet and unzipping the spacesuit that made up her red captain's uniform. Both were oversized... they were all that was left of the ship's original captain. She ran the gloved fingers of her thin, pale hands through her short, lilac colored hair, a far-away look clouding her bright blue eyes. With the suit open, a sweat-stained grey tank top was revealed along with the considerable swell of her chest. "FV. Status report."

A monitor over the bridge's main window crackled to life. The ship's artificial intelligence, known only as FV, spoke in a calm male voice. "No enemy life signs detected. Ship damage minimal. Ship energy reserves at half capacity and recharging... Congratulations on your victory, Captain Astara."

"It's your victory too, FV," she reminded the computer. She knew it was only an artificial intelligence and incapable of feeling any pride in its work, but she had long-since taken to bouncing conversation off of it. She thought it might be the only thing keeping her sane... That might have been an insane thought, anyway.

"Victory belongs to you and Ensign Goshin... Captain. Figurewatch has launched. The Ensign is on board."

Rebecca's eyes widened as she nearly choked on the water she'd begun to sip. "Haruka? FV, patch me through! Main screen!"

The main bridge window, which had previously seemed to be invisible glass, crackled as an image appeared. In the red light of the Figurewatch's cockpit, a figure in a deep blue space-suit with a full helmet could be seen. "Captain Astara," the woman's voice came over the intercom. "My apologies for launching without asking permission."

"Haruka, we're the last two survivors of the ship... possibly the last two living beings in this quadrant," Rebecca added, without humor. "You've earned the right to come and go as you please, but what could you be up to? FV has confirmed there are no enemy signatures. Were you feeling restless?"

The helmeted figure nodded. Haruka Goshin brought Figurewatch to a coast and tapped her helmet to open the face visor, revealing the Japanese features of her face and her dark hair, kept from her head with a simple white headband while she piloted... Although she was an android, she could perfectly pass for a human if not for the blacks of her eyes replacing a human's whites. The Ensign may be an artificial life form, but her level of sophistication was far greater than the computer AI. From their adventures together since Haruka had been discovered and hastily added to the crew, Rebecca had come to think of her as a living being, a capable warrior, and even a friend. Haruka had become the pilot of the flagship's most important cargo, an experimental combat unit known as Figurewatch. Its dark blue frame and gunmetal accents reflected the light of the stars around it, allowing its sharp angles and slim profile to stand out as easily as the purple jets of its verniers and the yellow glint of its eye-like cameras behind its featureless metal face plate. The unit had a humanoid shape with arms and legs, and when piloted by an compatible AI like Haruka, those limbs could be manipulated in a destructive ballet. All of its weapons, including its primary handheld rail cannon, were currently sheathed, but that was a new and precious rarity for the machine: often with little more than a plasma blade in hand, Figurewatch had acted as the lone escort for Figurehead V after its entire unit was wiped out weeks ago.

"Yes, Captain. The Empire is defeated, and the Core destroyed, but... I know the puppetmaster and Missing Memory are out there."

"That is true, but we dealt them a heavy blow. I know you feel you're tied to them Haruka, but that isn't a destiny you have to carry alone... and certainly not with such poor supplies. It can wait a night."

"Figurehead is still operating at sixty-eight percent capacity. I am still fully capable of engaging in combat."

"Forget the machine and its supplies. Even you need to rest once in a while, right? If I have to order you to take it easy for once in your activation cycle, I'll do it, Ensign."

"... Very well. I'll-" Haruka started, before her eyes sharpened, the pupils glinting yellow. Her tall, thin body tensed as her breath appeared to start. "That signature... That energy output. Figurehead and I feel him... Missing Memory!! I've locked onto his location!"

"Are you sure?!" Rebecca wanted to give Haruka a chance to rest almost as badly as she wanted a break herself, but if it really was the sworn enemy of humanity, they couldn't simply ignore it. "Haruka, return to the ship! I've locked onto the energy signature on a nearby blue planet, but Figurewatch will burn out its fuel reserves trying to reach it. Head back and have FV help with the resupply. The Figurehead V will set a course."

"Right away. With this, ... we may finally bring an end to all of it." Haruka brought her visor back up as she turned her mech around and moved for the ship's hanger entrance. "Captain... Rebecca... You may finally have your ****."

The captain shook her head, determination showing in her eyes as she zipped her suit once more. "This isn't about ****, Haruka. It's about peace... Peace for the friends I lost, and peace for the universe." Rebecca gripped her fists tightly, feeling the knuckles whiten before she punched in the coordinate data. With the Figurewatch docked, she engaged the ship's thrusters. "Brace yourself, Haruka. Figurehead V could return home now and be retired as a legend... On the other hand, I think she's still got one last fight in her."

The ship entered the atmosphere of a water-covered planet, its crew unaware it was, indeed, about to face a final confrontation that would prove very different from any in its previous service.